


All The Stories Are True

by Aria_Lerendeair



Series: Aria's SH Bingo Fics 2019-2020 [28]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec is a planner and always has plans, All the stories are true, Angst, BAMF Alec Lightwood, Fluff, Happy Ending, Immortal Husbands, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Temporary Character Death, Warlock Alec Lightwood, YES IT'S TEMPORARY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:53:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24731122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria_Lerendeair/pseuds/Aria_Lerendeair
Summary: When Alec gets the call that Magnus is dying, it's already too late.  There's nothing he can do to save him.Or is there?
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Aria's SH Bingo Fics 2019-2020 [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595839
Comments: 75
Kudos: 486
Collections: Favorite Malec Stories





	All The Stories Are True

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my bingo fill for bingo card #2: Demon Blood
> 
> This might...hurt a tad. BUT THERE ARE HAPPY ENDINGS AND IMMORTAL HUSBANDS AT THE END.

Alec's phone rang when Magnus was fifteen minutes late for dinner. He'd brought it from their favorite Indian place, because Magnus had been in the mood for that earlier, and a night in, a night _together._

"Lightwood," he barked, frowning at the unknown number. 

"Alec, fuck, _Alec,_ there's a portal, you have to hurry, I don't know how long he has, you have to-" 

In an instant, his blood was ice. Isabelle's voice was frantic and panicked. "Where-" A second later, there was a portal forming on the other side of the loft, and Alec was through it in a matter of seconds, having paused only long enough to grab his stele and weapons. He stepped out into the street, and the sight of Catarina leaning over Magnus, magic pouring from her fingertips into Magnus' chest made him freeze all over again. 

_"Alec, **Alec,"**_ Isabelle said, frantic. "Please, he wants..." she swallowed and gestured towards Catarina. "She's, she's keeping him here for you. So you can-" 

Alec didn't let her finish. He dropped his weapons and was on Magnus' other side in a second. Hazy golden eyes met his and felt his heart trip over several beats. "Magnus, you're going to be fine, I'm going to-" 

"...'xander..." 

Alec bit down on his lip hard enough to taste blood and grabbed Magnus' hand, holding onto it tightly. "Take my energy Magnus, use me, please," he whispered. "Please, love, you can't, you can't..." 

"M'sorry," Magnus mumbled, blinking slowly, trying to bring Alec's face into focus. "Didn't, didn't mean-" 

"Shhh, shhh," Alec whispered, kissing the back of Magnus' hand. He blinked hard. "It's okay, Magnus, I promise it's okay. I'm here." The magic from Catarina's hands abruptly cut off and she sank back, her whole body trembling. Magnus' next inhale was wet and sucking and Alec clenched his eyes shut at the sound, fighting back the tears before he focused down at Magnus. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you, Magnus." 

Alec managed to keep eye contact even as Magnus mouthed the words back to him, not able to give voice to them. He held on as tight as he dared until Magnus' hand went limp in his. The buzzing in his ears was getting louder by the second, and absently, he heard Jace talking, shouting, warning everyone to get to him, to _stop_ him.

Alec reached out and pressed his hand to Magnus' heart, where the blood had soaked through his shirt, and the fabric hung in tatters. Leaning down, he kissed Magnus on the forehead, tears starting to streak down his cheeks. He pulled his hand away from Magnus' shirt and looked at the blood. 

Magnus' blood. Demon's blood. The blood of Asmodeus. 

"Alec!" 

Izzy was holding Jace back, and Alec absently realized that she was crying. They were both crying, just like he was. Catarina was looking at him, and the sorrow, the regret in her eyes was soul deep. Alec took a deep breath and pulled out his seraph dagger, slicing his blood free hand open, blood pooling in his palm, then the palm with Magnus’ blood on it. 

Demon Blood. Angel's blood. 

Alec stood up. Someone called his name. He looked down at Magnus, and then he looked skyward. A small smile curled his lips. 

"What must be done to stop death in its tracks?" he whispered, tightening his hands into fists. "What must be given, what must be  _ sacrificed, _ to stop death when they come to claim those gone?" 

This time, Catarina called out for him, her voice cautious and worried. Alec didn't give her any attention. She might recognize the ancient ritual, but no one else would. Why would they? No one would be willing to make the sacrifice that he was. 

His fingers, the ones coated in only his own blood, closed around his stele and he stripped his shirt off. Steadily, he drew it over rune after rune, activating them all. He knew the others were watching, not understanding what he was doing, but it didn't matter, it didn't  _ matter, _ because he would do it. For Magnus, he would do _anything._

Once Alec finished tracing all of his permanent runes, he began drawing, gritting his teeth as he drew rune after rune across his chest, his arms, his neck, his body shaking with the weight of them, the air growing heavy with the scent of charred flesh. Alec forced himself to breathe and kept drawing, his hand starting to shake where he was holding onto his stele. 

"To sacrifice the blood of the angels," Alec spat. "One must bear the true weight of runes and blood, the burden, and have pure intentions." 

He drew another rune and fought down a gasp of pain. There were too many now, they hurt more than they helped, but he still had a dozen to go. Jace was trying to get to him, now, but he couldn't, wind had kicked up around him and Magnus, keeping the others back, magic gathering tight and heavy in the air. He drew another rune, and then another. He'd drawn every rune in the grey book a hundred, a _thousand_ times. He knew them all, whispered their names as they were charred into his skin, burning dark black like the scars they were. 

The air around him was still and it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe, suffocatingly hard as he forced his hand to remain steady, slow swipes of the stele against his skin. Once he reached the final one, the wind keeping the others back disappeared and Alec tightened his hand on his stele, lifting his eyes to look at his parabatai with regret before he stared down at Magnus. 

He lifted his stele to his heart and began to draw in slow, steady sweeps, tears once again burning down his cheeks. The Love rune now etched permanently over his heart shone white and Alec breathed through the pain that was so great he could barely stand under the weight of it. He heard Izzy scream behind him and he looked down at Magnus, standing beside his prone body. 

"With angel blood, and the blood of demons," Alec whispered. "With the full weight of all that makes me what I am, and with the intention of returning what has been taken from me, I make not a request, but a  **demand."**

In a rush, Alec crashed to his knees, shoving both of his hands to Magnus' heart, violent white power flaring out of him in a rush, obscuring the words of his demand. The surge of gathered power swept through him and Alec tried to breathe, he  _ tried, _ but it was too much, too much to control, to keep reigned in, but he pushed it into Magnus, into the wounds that were too great and too extensive for even Catarina to heal. 

Magnus jack-knifed upright, his eyes flying open, gold and shining with white light. Alec met his wide and shocked eyes before the pain hit him properly at last, the power that had burned through him leaving a hollowed-out feeling of empty slowly being filled in its wake. One by one, he felt the runes on his skin flare white and he cried out in agony, his whole body shaking. 

"Alexander!" Magnus shouted, scrambling to his knees, his shirt and jacket in tatters hanging around his chest, his skin still aching from where it had been torn open down to his organs. "Alec!" 

Alec curled up in the tightest possible ball and tried to breathe through the overwhelming pain, even as his runes kept flaring the same vibrant white, until they started to fade from his skin, leaving raised scars in their wake. He bit down the cry that wanted to escape, even as he felt Magnus' hands on him, but it was almost done, he could feel it, now. 

"Help him!" Jace shouted. "Magnus, help him!" 

"I'd need to know what the hell he did for that!" Magnus snapped back, watching as the runes on Alec's chest started disappearing faster and faster, each of them shimmering white before they were gone. "What did he do?" 

Abruptly, just like the pain had started, it was gone, and Alec was left laying on the ground, panting as he desperately tried to breathe. "Magnus," he managed, reaching out for him. "Magnus..." 

"I'm here, I'm here," Magnus said, carefully pulling Alec’s head into his lap. The parabatai rune on Alec's hip was the only one that remained, a faint gray rather than the usual dark black, all the rest of his runes freshly scarred skin. "Alec, what..." 

"Couldn't..." Alec breathed out slowly, turning to press his face to Magnus' knee. "Wasn't, wasn't gonna live without you." 

"Darling," Magnus whispered. "What the hell did you do?" 

Alec managed a hoarse laugh and turned to look at Jace and Izzy as they raced closer, both of them looking him over in shock. "Remember the fairy tale?" he whispered, closing his eyes. 

Izzy frowned, grabbing Alec's wrist to check his pulse. "What are you talking about, hermano?" 

"The fairy tale. The one Mom told you when you were little.  _ Really _ little. I used to listen when she didn't notice," Alec whispered. "The Nephilim warrior who saved his beloved. Because she died, and he demanded that she be saved." 

Izzy's eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. "The angels agreed to save her, for a price. A price that he would have to pay." 

"Yeah," Alec managed, smiling faintly. "That one. I paid the price. S'ok now." 

"What price?" Magnus snapped, his magic was too low to check Alec for injuries or to understand what was wrong with him. "Isabelle, what price?" 

Izzy swallowed, looking at Magnus. "His angelic blood. What made him a Nephilim. He saved her, but he could never be with her again, because he was mundane." 

"Yeah, that," Alec muttered, pressing his face into Magnus' thigh. "Cept I _cheated."_

Magnus blinked, taking that in. "You...cheated?" 

Alec held up the hand that had been pressed to Magnus' chest and the blood and smiled faintly. "Gonna have to..." he yawned and pressed closer to Magnus. "Figure out how to deal with that." Fuck he was exhausted and every single part of his body ached. 

"Deal with what?" Magnus asked, running his fingers through Alec's hair. His eyes widened when sparks of magic, a bright silver shade, escaped from Alec's fingers, into his thigh where his fingers were clenched. 

"Alec..." Jace whispered, reaching out to touch him. 

"Mmm tired," Alec muttered. "You know how hard it is to carry all those runes? Fuckin' _hard,_ Jace." 

Jace's laugh was wet and he wiped his eyes before any tears could fall. "How did you keep the bond if you're not...if you don't have any angelic blood now?" 

Alec cracked one eye open and stared at Jace with a scowl.  _ "Cheated," _ he emphasized. "Honestly, s'like you all forget 'm good at rule-breaking when I wanna be." 

Magnus huffed out a laugh and combed some of Alec's hair back from his face. "Darling, I think we just want to make sure you're all right. Now, care to tell us exactly how you cheated?" 

Alec groaned and forced himself upright. His entire body felt wrung-out, and he'd never been sore in places like this. "Fuck, this hurts," he muttered. He took a deep breath and managed to get himself standing, reaching a hand out for Magnus, pulling him up as well. "Magnus' blood is what I used to replace my angelic blood," he explained, taking a deep breath. "And because of his ancestry, there's enough angelic nature to it that it didn't require me severing the bond." 

Alec watched all the others around him blink and stare at him in shock. He stared back at them with a raised eyebrow. "Did you think I wouldn't plan for something like this? Knowing who both Magnus and I are?" 

"When you put it like that," Izzy said, looking between them. "And considering you've walked into a realm of hell for him, yes, it doesn't sound surprising at all. But Alec-" 

Alec cleared his throat and turned to look at Magnus, at the lack of expression on his face and he sighed, pushing his fingers through his hair. "All right, all of you stop. This can wait until tomorrow. Magnus and I need to go home and sleep." He gave Magnus a small shove. "Go hug Catarina first." 

Once Magnus was a few steps away and wrapped up tightly in Catarina's arms, Alec turned back to his siblings and crossed his arms over his chest, trying not to wince through the flash of pain the gesture required. "Problem?" 

Jace shook his head with a laugh. "Clary is going to be pissed that she missed all of the action." 

Alec huffed and shook his head, glad when Magnus was back beside him in a matter of seconds and able to summon a portal. "I'll get in touch with you soon." 

"And you'll-" 

"Yes, I'll explain things properly," Alec huffed, wrapping an arm around Magnus before they stepped into the loft. The scent of the Indian he'd ordered for dinner was lingering and he really wanted to eat some of it now. "You know," he managed, looking at Magnus. 

"Alexander," Magnus said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You need to tell me exactly what you did." 

Alec sighed and trudged toward the kitchen. "Fine. But I need food while I do it," he managed. He sat down at the kitchen island and tugged one of the containers towards him, tucking in almost immediately. He was glad when Magnus sat beside him, pressing their thighs together. 

Magnus turned to look at Alec, reaching up to trail his fingers down the hint of the deflect rune he could see on Alec's skin. "I'm gonna miss that," he whispered. 

Alec hummed and tilted his head to the side. "Me too. Gonna be weird for a little while, I think." 

“Alexander-” 

“After Edom, I started researching,” Alec said, blowing out a hard breath. “Started looking.” When Magnus didn’t say anything further, he forced himself to keep talking, even as he shoveled food in his mouth. “We used to tell Clary, and Simon, when they first showed up, all the stories are real.” 

Magnus frowned. “Stories?” 

“Demons, vampires, werewolves,” Alec said, looking at him. “Then I started wondering how true those statements were. How many of the stories are real, Magnus? I studied. The Fountain. The Sacrifice. The happily ever after tales of caution and love and pain.” 

Magnus stared at Alec, unblinking. “You…” 

Alec nodded. “I looked, Magnus. There are a dozen rituals that I would have asked you to perform in a few years. A few that need more research, more understanding. There are…” he swallowed and clenched his eyes shut. _“Records,_ shut away, that the Clave has hidden for centuries. There are histories of Shadowhunters bonding with Downworlders, Magnus. _Permanent_ bonds. They were hunted, for what they did, but they existed.” 

Though he’d known, he’d known and supposed it to be true, hearing Alec confirm it was almost more horrifying, because Magnus could hear the pain in his voice at what his people had done. “And you found… whatever you did today?” 

“One,” Alec started, with a hoarse laugh. “Of the rituals was the one I used today. Kinda combined two in one.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “It used to be how they stripped runes.” 

Magnus' eyes widened. “Wh-what?” 

“Yeah. Back before we had the tool to do it for us?” Alec said, waiting for Magnus to nod in understanding. “A shadowhunter would be forced to bear the weight of all the runes meant to go on a body, all at once, and then beg for forgiveness from the angels, and their runes would be stripped, and then they were mundane.” 

The food was forgotten in front of him, as Magnus tried to comprehend the magnitude of what Alexander had just given up. “Alexander…” 

Alec huffed and gave him a quick smile and a wink. “There are, maybe a dozen documented examples of the ritual not being used as intended. For obvious reasons, it’s a well-kept secret by the Clave.” 

“Obviously,” Magnus said, his voice faint. 

“A few of the instances were what I’d done today. Someone giving up their runes to save the life of another. Another was an instance where a demon horde that would have decimated Alicante and the surrounding Institutes was killed on the ritual of the then-Consul,” Alec gave Magnus a wry smile. “Every Nephilim has the ability to have a wish granted to them if they are willing to give up their blood in return for it.” 

Magnus met Alec’s eyes and raised his eyebrows. “But you did more than that.” 

Alec lifted his fingers and focused, tugging on the  _ center _ he could feel now that hadn’t been as prevalent before, watching as silver flames leaped to his fingers, dancing around them. “I did,” he agreed, looking to Magnus. “I didn’t ask to save your life.” 

“Then…” Magnus frowned and his eyes moved to Alec’s. He reached out and touched the flames and the power felt familiar, in the way that his own did. A quick probe of his magic into Alec confirmed it - Alec’s magic felt like his, as well as Alec’s, all at the same time.

“I asked to be given the power possessed in your blood at enough of a level to save your life,” Alec said, giving Magnus a look. “So I sacrificed my Nephilim blood, and gained yours, in effectively the same minute. Since I was saving your life, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind.” He winced. “I figured if you did mind, I’d give you a few years to get over it, since I have, you know,  _ time, _ now.” 

Magnus turned and pressed his face to Alec’s shoulder, breathing through the enormity of what Alec had done to bring him back from the dead. Not only that, but Alec had made the decision to become a warlock, to become immortal. A sob escaped his mouth before he could stop it and Magnus distantly heard a fork clatter against a plate before he was being pulled against Alec’s chest. 

“Magnus,” Alec whispered, rubbing his back gently. “Magnus, love, look at me.” 

Magnus blinked hard and forced himself to pull back just enough to meet Alec’s eyes. “I thought I was never going to get to see you again.” 

Alec relaxed and cupped Magnus’ face, pulling him in for a gentle kiss. “But you do,” he whispered. “I’m right here, Magnus. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“You’re  _ never _ going anywhere, are you?” Magnus asked with a laugh, leaning in against Alec again, trying to assimilate that. 

Alec laughed and nodded, nosing at Magnus’ hair. “I told you, didn’t I? When I found you in Edom?” 

Magnus blinked, his mind racing back to that moment, the sheer, unparalleled joy, terror, and happiness he’d felt all at once. “You told me you were staying, and that you were never leaving me again.” 

“Never leaving you again,” Alec whispered, pulling Magnus in for a kiss. “Means never leaving you again, Magnus. If you’ll have me, I am here as long as you want me.” 

Laughter, a little _too_ bright, and a little _too_ loud, burst from Magnus’ lips and he tightened his arms around Alec, kissing him again, hard and desperate. “I hope you’re ready for forever, Alexander,” Magnus whispered, against his lips. “It’s going to take me at least that long to teach you to be a half-decent warlock, after all.” 

Alec grinned and melted into the kiss again, holding onto Magnus as tight as he dared. “Sounds like heaven to me.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Criticisms welcome!
> 
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